Lonzo Ball confirms injury and feels guilty: "I just wish I didn't go through this"

Confirming rumors that have surfaced this past summer, Lonzo Ball said he will not be able to play the entire NBA 2023-24 season after the most recent knee surgery.

Lonzo Ball suffered a knee injury in January 2022, then the Chicago Bulls with the excellence of this PG were standing in the first place in the East, becoming the dark horse team of the tournament.

But Lonzo's injury caused his career to enter a dark spiral with many surgeries, and the Chicago Bulls also plummeted in terms of achievements.

The former defender who was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers admitted the injury condition with sadness, and shared that he "can only wish" when thinking about the time he received salary of the Chicago Bulls but could not with his teammates. into the field.

“It would be a big ‘if’ word when thinking about the past,” Lonzo Ball told young star Trae Young on the From The Point podcast.

“I feel sad and apologetic to president Artūras Karnišovas (Chicago Bulls professional president - PV) for then he built the perfect squad to compete. I was consulted by him and directly involved in finding the right pieces.

When I was able to stand on the same field with a complete, well-connected team and I myself could play comfortably and effectively, I got injured again. I just wish it didn't happen.

Because of my injury, the whole team never reached the growth ceiling that we wanted. I also don't know how far that group can reach, how competitive it is."

During the summer of 2021, Lonzo Ball signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Chicago Bulls. Right next to him at that time was DeMar DeRozan, the scorer also landed in the "windy city" to create a relatively quality squad.

Everything started off perfectly when the Bulls performed excellently in the first phase of the Regular Season 2021-22, continuously having impressive victories.

Individually Lonzo Ball also played well at the helm, averaging 13.0 points with 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists to put Chicago at the top of the Eastern standings.

However, that dream ended when Ball suffered a torn meniscus in his knee in January 2022. Since then, he has performed 3 surgeries and 1 minor surgery to completely solve this injury.

The last time Lonzo was on the operating table was in March, which was also the most complicated surgery when he received a left knee meniscus transplant, the last option in the hope of being able to play again.

With his absence from the 2023-24 season, Lonzo Ball will be sidelined for a total of more than 33 months because of this complicated knee injury, a period of nearly 3 years.

“When I got this injury for the first time, I didn't know what was wrong with me. We have continuously worked with various doctors and specialists to find the answer.

It was a very bad time because you imagine you won't know what tomorrow is like, whether you can play again or not," Lonzo Ball recalled.

But after a series of difficult surgeries and recovery, the 1997 defender finally had confidence to look ahead:

“Now that I have surgery in March, at least I have a course of treatment and a plan to follow, aiming to make a full recovery and return to the field. The recovery is progressing on schedule, so I hope that this time everything will be fine."